I figured I should probably share my plans for the month here so you know what to expect on my YouTube channel. Hopefully you're reading this and will go over there and check out some of my videos.
My plan for December is mostly finish up a couple of games I'm playing or at least get further along in them. First up is Far Cry Classic. I started that in November but got stuck part way through and was having a really hard time in the game. I ended up playing Call of Duty Classic more so that game got finished but I'm still working on Far Cry Classic. Since I've figured out the swapping guns issue and brightness (or lack thereof) issue I'm sure I can finish up the game this month.
I've also go some videos for dlc missions for Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens. I've got those filmed already so I've just got to edit them and get them posted. I'd also like to make more progress in Lego Harry Potter (yrs. 1-4) even thought I know I won't finish it this month.
I don't know if I can finish this game, but I'd like to get a few more videos from Halo: Combat Evolved up on my channel. We'll have to see. Maybe even some more Rayman Origins if I've feeling particular psychotic.
My plan is to finish or get more videos posted for as many Xbox (360 and One) as I can because I have a plan for 2017 which is just around the corner. It will be here before you know it. It doesn't help that I've been extremely sick the last couple of days and haven't had the chance to post anything. I'm feeling better so maybe I can make up for lost time.
My plan for 2017 is to make it "The Year of the PlayStation". Even though I will continue to play Xbox games, I think I want to focus on playing more PlayStation games. They may be old. They may be new. They may be whatever. I figure I have a PlayStation Plus or PlayStation Now membership (or whatever it's called) so I might as well use it. I haven't logged in to my PlayStation account for months so this should be interesting.
Some of the current PlayStation games I'm already in the midst of will continue and hopefully finish sometime next year. Those games are Psychonauts, Dark Cloud, and Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits. I've already started recording a couple other PlayStation games and hopefully I'll be able to get those started and finished next year. I don't want to tell you what those are as I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise.
There are a couple of Xbox games that I will be playing as well next year. I told you I wouldn't stop playing those games. A friend of mine suggested 3 different games and I've committed to playing them all. Those will come up periodically throughout the year so keep on eye on what they are. I've already started playing one of them and I guess if you're nosey you could check my achievements. Unfortunately I don't think I've picked up any achievements in that game yet. Almost though.
If you know of any PlayStation games (I, II, or III) that you'd like me to play, let me know in the comments. I'm open to suggestions and if I don't have the game I just might have to go out and do some bargain hunting for a copy. I love shopping for video games.
Showing posts with label Halo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Halo. Show all posts
Friday, December 2, 2016
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
September YouTube schedule
So, now that Lego Star Wars is complete I can finally focus on some other games. The problem is I'm not sure exactly which game to focus on. For completing the story or earning all achievements/trophies. So for the month of September I'm trying a few games out.
I'll still be playing and posting Rayman Origins. I think I'm getting close to the end on that one so I want to see it through. Those videos will continue to be posted on Thursdays.
For Monday's I'm posting some Dark Cloud videos. This is an old PS2 game that I had almost finished before my stuff got robbed. I loved the game so I would really like to see if finished (even though there are no achievements or trophies to earn). This can be a really long game and I don't know if I want to tie up Mondays with this game for a very long time. We'll see how it goes and if anyone watches those videos and says anything.
For Tuesday's I'm posting Halo videos. I have a confession to make about Halo. I've played Halo in the multiplayer a lot, but I've never completed the campaign in any of the Halo games. So . . . I thought this game might be a good one to keep myself on track and finally finish the campaigns in all the Halo games. Kind of like what I did with Lego Star Wars. This too might take a while but at least I can finally say I've played them. Even though I own all of the versions for the first Halo game I am playing the one in the Master Chief Collection on my Xbox One. It looks pretty.
On Wednesdays I'm trying out some Prototype 2 from my PS3. This isn't a game that I would normally pick up and play but it was a free PSN download a while ago and I tried it and liked it. It's vastly different than any type of game I've played so far. And while I'm loving the game I'm having a hard time going back to it. I can't seem to remember the controls and I fumble around trying to do things that came naturally the last time I played it. I just might need more practice in the game. This is one I'm not sure if it will be a full play or not. I'll have to wait and see what people think before I decide.
On Fridays I wanted to do something special, but I couldn't decide what . . . or exactly which game. I'm going to do "Final Fantasy Fridays" and post videos from Final Fantasy games. The problem is I can't decide which Final Fantasy game to play. I like so many of them. I want to finish FF X-2 because I'm curious about the story because I've finished FF X. But I was almost finished with FFIX when my stuff was stolen and I REALLY liked that game so I want to finish that game. Plus, I really like Final Fantasy Tactics and FFVII is a game that started this whole blog so I should really try to finally finish that game. Maybe I'll rotate and do a different game per month. We'll see.
As for October, I've got some Halloween inspired games that I'll like to post so anything that I post in September might take a break for awhile. I hope you don't mind, I'm just trying new things out here. I'll keep you posted.
Is there any of those games that interest you? Have you played any of them yourself? What game would you like to see me play instead of those? I'll take suggestions. If I don't have the game I might be willing to go out and get it so I can post videos of it on YouTube. Just let me know in the comments. And check out my YouTube channel to watch me play games, die (a lot) and generally make a fool out of myself. That's me.
I'll still be playing and posting Rayman Origins. I think I'm getting close to the end on that one so I want to see it through. Those videos will continue to be posted on Thursdays.
For Monday's I'm posting some Dark Cloud videos. This is an old PS2 game that I had almost finished before my stuff got robbed. I loved the game so I would really like to see if finished (even though there are no achievements or trophies to earn). This can be a really long game and I don't know if I want to tie up Mondays with this game for a very long time. We'll see how it goes and if anyone watches those videos and says anything.
For Tuesday's I'm posting Halo videos. I have a confession to make about Halo. I've played Halo in the multiplayer a lot, but I've never completed the campaign in any of the Halo games. So . . . I thought this game might be a good one to keep myself on track and finally finish the campaigns in all the Halo games. Kind of like what I did with Lego Star Wars. This too might take a while but at least I can finally say I've played them. Even though I own all of the versions for the first Halo game I am playing the one in the Master Chief Collection on my Xbox One. It looks pretty.
On Wednesdays I'm trying out some Prototype 2 from my PS3. This isn't a game that I would normally pick up and play but it was a free PSN download a while ago and I tried it and liked it. It's vastly different than any type of game I've played so far. And while I'm loving the game I'm having a hard time going back to it. I can't seem to remember the controls and I fumble around trying to do things that came naturally the last time I played it. I just might need more practice in the game. This is one I'm not sure if it will be a full play or not. I'll have to wait and see what people think before I decide.
On Fridays I wanted to do something special, but I couldn't decide what . . . or exactly which game. I'm going to do "Final Fantasy Fridays" and post videos from Final Fantasy games. The problem is I can't decide which Final Fantasy game to play. I like so many of them. I want to finish FF X-2 because I'm curious about the story because I've finished FF X. But I was almost finished with FFIX when my stuff was stolen and I REALLY liked that game so I want to finish that game. Plus, I really like Final Fantasy Tactics and FFVII is a game that started this whole blog so I should really try to finally finish that game. Maybe I'll rotate and do a different game per month. We'll see.
As for October, I've got some Halloween inspired games that I'll like to post so anything that I post in September might take a break for awhile. I hope you don't mind, I'm just trying new things out here. I'll keep you posted.
Is there any of those games that interest you? Have you played any of them yourself? What game would you like to see me play instead of those? I'll take suggestions. If I don't have the game I might be willing to go out and get it so I can post videos of it on YouTube. Just let me know in the comments. And check out my YouTube channel to watch me play games, die (a lot) and generally make a fool out of myself. That's me.
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Playing catch up
Okay, after some disc cleaning and testing it looks like my Assassin's Creed disc is not readable . . . for the first mission anyway. I borrowed by brothers disc and downloaded the game to my hard drive. Since then it's been smooth sailing . . . at least for the disc.
My playing style in these free-roaming games is to rob and steal everything I can and make as much mayhem as possible. Either intentionally or unintentionally. Well, Assassin's Creed is a game to played completely differently. You have to walk, not run. Put your head down and be meek, not shove everyone out of your way. You have to watch out for guards and Courageous Citizens, not kill everyone who gets in your way. It's hard.
I'm finding myself doing a lot of other things instead. Like climbing up to roofs and jump . . . or dance around. Doing the "eagle eye" thing while up there is nice too but it's not showing me very much. But then again I'm only on my second mission (the first being the training).
I find these types of games enjoyable but I always have a hard time playing them because I don't conform to how the game should be played. Just the other night I had a Pickpocket side quest pop up. I was excited. Finally something up my alley. But . . . since I knew Assassin's Creed is about stealth and not bludgeoning someone to death I tried to find a nice quiet way to relieve this guy of his throwing knives. Except I bumped him to hard and he drew his sword (my character's got nothing at this point) and chased after me. This caused other characters to join in the fight as well. There was no amount of wall climbing, roof hopping I could do to get away from this guy or anyone who was helping him. I eventually jumped off a building when my health was low so I'd die. I wasn't going to give that the satisfaction of killing me.
I spent the rest of the night looking through the strategy guide trying to find tips and hints of how to be cautious, silent, unnoticed and deadly instead of my usual ogre pounding approach. And I read up on how to deftly remove some knives from their owner's satchel. Hopefully I can put that in to practice.
I really want to plan this game. Everyone says it's a good series and I really want to play some of my older games. The only achievement I had was the achievement for finishing the training. And I got that back in November 2007. I figure it's time to play these older games and see what they're like.
I'm also trying to play Halo: Anniversary but I'm having a hard time with the checkpoints and dying all the time for what seems like no apparent reason. I know people have said I should just start playing Halo 3 or Assassin's Creed II, but I like to start at the beginning. No matter how long ago that was. I will eventually finish these games. There might be another generation of consoles out by then, but it will happen. Of course I'm sure I'll be playing catch up on those systems as well.
My playing style in these free-roaming games is to rob and steal everything I can and make as much mayhem as possible. Either intentionally or unintentionally. Well, Assassin's Creed is a game to played completely differently. You have to walk, not run. Put your head down and be meek, not shove everyone out of your way. You have to watch out for guards and Courageous Citizens, not kill everyone who gets in your way. It's hard.
I'm finding myself doing a lot of other things instead. Like climbing up to roofs and jump . . . or dance around. Doing the "eagle eye" thing while up there is nice too but it's not showing me very much. But then again I'm only on my second mission (the first being the training).
I find these types of games enjoyable but I always have a hard time playing them because I don't conform to how the game should be played. Just the other night I had a Pickpocket side quest pop up. I was excited. Finally something up my alley. But . . . since I knew Assassin's Creed is about stealth and not bludgeoning someone to death I tried to find a nice quiet way to relieve this guy of his throwing knives. Except I bumped him to hard and he drew his sword (my character's got nothing at this point) and chased after me. This caused other characters to join in the fight as well. There was no amount of wall climbing, roof hopping I could do to get away from this guy or anyone who was helping him. I eventually jumped off a building when my health was low so I'd die. I wasn't going to give that the satisfaction of killing me.
I spent the rest of the night looking through the strategy guide trying to find tips and hints of how to be cautious, silent, unnoticed and deadly instead of my usual ogre pounding approach. And I read up on how to deftly remove some knives from their owner's satchel. Hopefully I can put that in to practice.
I really want to plan this game. Everyone says it's a good series and I really want to play some of my older games. The only achievement I had was the achievement for finishing the training. And I got that back in November 2007. I figure it's time to play these older games and see what they're like.
I'm also trying to play Halo: Anniversary but I'm having a hard time with the checkpoints and dying all the time for what seems like no apparent reason. I know people have said I should just start playing Halo 3 or Assassin's Creed II, but I like to start at the beginning. No matter how long ago that was. I will eventually finish these games. There might be another generation of consoles out by then, but it will happen. Of course I'm sure I'll be playing catch up on those systems as well.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Oh my achy breaky heart
I've been feeling very unloved lately on Xbox Live. I can't find anyone who wants to play with me. If I jump into a friends room usually within 2 matches suddenly everyone wants to get off line. That happened the other night but before I decided to play something by myself I walked away for awhile. When I came back instead of "going to bed" like everyone said they were, they were playing a private, invite only, match. How subtle is that.
I might not be the best player out there, but I'm fun to be around, mostly anyway, right? I'm competitive but I'm never going to be the best player out there. If I can break even with my kill/death ratio (no matter the game) I consider that a huge success. If you play with me, we might not win but I promise, next to me, I'll make you look good. So why won't anyone play with me?
I know there are friends out there still playing Gears of War 3 but there are also other games out there that I have that I would love to play with people. For starters there's Left for Dead. I haven't played much, if any, of that game but I don't feel confident in my abilities to play by myself. I need help.
And then there's any of the Call of Duty games. While I get bored playing Team Deathmatch over and over again all night long, I love trying out other game types, even if I suck at them. One of the few nights where I actually got to play with other people we played a new game type in Modern Warfare 3 about capturing and holding a flag. I LOVED playing that game type (partly because I had the flag for awhile) but everybody else hated it and wouldn't play it again. Why not spice it up every now and then with different game types or maybe an older version of Call of Duty?
And then there's Halo games. There are game types I had never heard about until I saw someone play them a while ago. Games a lot like soccer or basketball or other weird stuff. I'm up for weird.
I know there's a lot of reasons why it's harder to get online sometimes for a lot of us. I'm not saying we have to spend all out time online playing together. But a night or two a week where old friends can get to together and shoot the breeze while we shoot the enemy would be nice. I'd even go back to old school original Gears of War to play with friends. Hell, if Star Wars Battlefront were still active I'd be there right now.
I know we're all busy but if any body an spare an hour or two to play with me then I won't have to start singing "My Achy Breaky Heart" in voice messages to you all over Xbox Live. You don't want that ear worm taking up residence inside your head now do we?
I might not be the best player out there, but I'm fun to be around, mostly anyway, right? I'm competitive but I'm never going to be the best player out there. If I can break even with my kill/death ratio (no matter the game) I consider that a huge success. If you play with me, we might not win but I promise, next to me, I'll make you look good. So why won't anyone play with me?
I know there are friends out there still playing Gears of War 3 but there are also other games out there that I have that I would love to play with people. For starters there's Left for Dead. I haven't played much, if any, of that game but I don't feel confident in my abilities to play by myself. I need help.
And then there's any of the Call of Duty games. While I get bored playing Team Deathmatch over and over again all night long, I love trying out other game types, even if I suck at them. One of the few nights where I actually got to play with other people we played a new game type in Modern Warfare 3 about capturing and holding a flag. I LOVED playing that game type (partly because I had the flag for awhile) but everybody else hated it and wouldn't play it again. Why not spice it up every now and then with different game types or maybe an older version of Call of Duty?
And then there's Halo games. There are game types I had never heard about until I saw someone play them a while ago. Games a lot like soccer or basketball or other weird stuff. I'm up for weird.
I know there's a lot of reasons why it's harder to get online sometimes for a lot of us. I'm not saying we have to spend all out time online playing together. But a night or two a week where old friends can get to together and shoot the breeze while we shoot the enemy would be nice. I'd even go back to old school original Gears of War to play with friends. Hell, if Star Wars Battlefront were still active I'd be there right now.
I know we're all busy but if any body an spare an hour or two to play with me then I won't have to start singing "My Achy Breaky Heart" in voice messages to you all over Xbox Live. You don't want that ear worm taking up residence inside your head now do we?
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Poll Results - Are you getting Halo: Reach
Halo: Reach is the big game to get right now. I also think it's the harbinger of the holiday season of new game releases. I know, I've already got several games on pre-order. But Halo: Reach is out now and I wanted to know if you were going to get it. At least for the three people who voted in this poll besides me.
Okay, lets get into the voting. And I promise no "Reach around" jokes. I already used up my allotment of one.
I voted "Yes, eventually". Because I put three games on pre-order a while ago that will be released in October I thought I'd wait to get this game for several reasons. 1) I haven't even finished the first Halo game, 2) outside of a few die hard fanboys I don't have too many people on my friends list that would like to play this game 3) I haven't even put in my pre-orders on the games that come out in November or December yet and I'm not made of money.
I will get this game eventually because I have all the other Halo games (with the exception of Halo Wars). If I didn't get this game it would be like buying a chess set one piece at a time but then not buying the pawns. Sure, you might throw them away willy-nilly in a chess game thinking they're worthless, but you're not going to win without them. If Halo: Reach helps to tell the full story of that game world I'm all for it. But until I play (or finish) more of those other Halo games the game is pretty much worthless to me. I think I'll wait until either 1) the price comes down, 2) there are no other games out there I want to have more, or 3) I win the lottery and have oodles of money to spend on things that don't really matter in the grand scheme of life. Like Halo games.
I don't have a problem with the gameplay, environments, or story in a Halo game. It's when I go online and play with teabagging idiots that annoys me. For some of my friends it's the "Halo jump" that annoys them. Either way, the game is great....the people you play it with not necessarily so.
So what games do I have on pre-order that are pushing Halo: Reach to the back of my budget? Dance Dance Revolution, Fallout New Vegas, and Fable III. Games that are further out that I want to pick up are: Call of Duty: Black Ops, Gears of War 3, Dead Space 2, The Force Unleashed 2 and a whole lot more. I might be treating myself a lot this Christmas season so any gifts I give might be a little skimpy. But I'm not complaining. :) What games are on your radar this holiday season?
Are you getting Halo: Reach?
Yes, on release date = 1 votes
Yes, eventually = 2 votes
Maybe, if all my friends get it first = 0 votes
NO! = 1 vote
Okay, lets get into the voting. And I promise no "Reach around" jokes. I already used up my allotment of one.
I voted "Yes, eventually". Because I put three games on pre-order a while ago that will be released in October I thought I'd wait to get this game for several reasons. 1) I haven't even finished the first Halo game, 2) outside of a few die hard fanboys I don't have too many people on my friends list that would like to play this game 3) I haven't even put in my pre-orders on the games that come out in November or December yet and I'm not made of money.
I will get this game eventually because I have all the other Halo games (with the exception of Halo Wars). If I didn't get this game it would be like buying a chess set one piece at a time but then not buying the pawns. Sure, you might throw them away willy-nilly in a chess game thinking they're worthless, but you're not going to win without them. If Halo: Reach helps to tell the full story of that game world I'm all for it. But until I play (or finish) more of those other Halo games the game is pretty much worthless to me. I think I'll wait until either 1) the price comes down, 2) there are no other games out there I want to have more, or 3) I win the lottery and have oodles of money to spend on things that don't really matter in the grand scheme of life. Like Halo games.
I don't have a problem with the gameplay, environments, or story in a Halo game. It's when I go online and play with teabagging idiots that annoys me. For some of my friends it's the "Halo jump" that annoys them. Either way, the game is great....the people you play it with not necessarily so.
So what games do I have on pre-order that are pushing Halo: Reach to the back of my budget? Dance Dance Revolution, Fallout New Vegas, and Fable III. Games that are further out that I want to pick up are: Call of Duty: Black Ops, Gears of War 3, Dead Space 2, The Force Unleashed 2 and a whole lot more. I might be treating myself a lot this Christmas season so any gifts I give might be a little skimpy. But I'm not complaining. :) What games are on your radar this holiday season?
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
New Poll: Are you getting Halo: Reach?
There's a little game coming out next week that you might not have heard about. It's called Halo: Reach. What? You have heard about it? Well then, vote in this poll. Please!
Are you getting Halo: Reach?
Yes, I'm getting it at release
Yes, eventually
Maybe, if all my friends get it first
No!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Poll Results - What are you looking forward to?
This holiday season (and the first quarter of next year) are looking to be a gold mine for great games coming out. I'll probably get all the big games but I got to wondering which one you guys were most looking forward to. Hence my latest poll. Here are the results.
So let's look at each game individually. Why? Because it's my blog and I said so. Anyway.
Halo: Reach
I'm not like a lot of other gamers out there in that I don't have anything against the Halo games. They're great games, filled with action and excitement. What I do have a problem with is all the shitty players that play the game. I'm not certain but I'm sure "tea-bagging" didn't exist until online Halo games. If you can get into a good room it's not bad. Unfortunately I think stupidity and bathroom humor are staples to playing Halo online these days.
Will I get this game at release? Probably not. But I'll probably wait until it drops in price because there are other games I want more.
Fable III
I loved the first Fable game although I've never gotten far in the game. I loved stealing from people's homes (I most always select a thief-type character when playing RPGs) and I loved the side quest missions. Unfortunately I had other games to play so I've never finished the first one.
I love the second Fable game even more. I think I've actually progressed even less in the main story than the first one because of all the side quests, blacksmithing and wood chopping I could do. Not to mention the pub games. In my first game my save got glitched. It happened just after I bought the Snowglobe DLC. My character wouldn't move properly and when I finally got them to Bowerstone they wouldn't move at all. I tried deleting the DLC but then my game wouldn't load because it had been a part of the last save. I finally gave up and restarted the game. And then I got robbed. So what's a girl to do? Restart the game (again) of course. Some times I get so tired about restarting games that I'm less motivated to even play them. That's were I'm at now.
Will I get this game at release? Yes. I might even put in a pre-order for it. I'm a RPG fan at heart so I love these types of games. I hope this time no one spoils the story for me by saying my dog dies again.
Dead Space 2
This is a game that I'm late to the bandwagon for. I haven't played much because every time I do my blood pressure rises because it creeps me out so much. Every time I see a body on the ground I have to beat that thing into an unrecognizable pulp before moving on. I've seen what those "dead" bodies can do and it scares the crap out of me.
My problem with the first Dead Space is that I play it in short bursts that I have a hard time remember where I need to go or what I need to do. Then I get to a puzzle, a door that needs to be propped open so I can go through it, etc., and I can't remember how to do what I need to do. So I save the game and go play something else. Eventually I'd like to play this game for an extended period of time, preferably with all the lights out, the volume turned up and a raging windstorm outside. At least until the game scares to death anyway.
Will I buy this game at release? Maybe. I might wait until I've played more of the first one and to hear from my friends who picked it up what it's like. I heard they are changing things to make it more accessible to more gamers and that's not always a good thing.
Call of Duty: Black Ops
While I like playing the Call of Duty games I'm really indifferent to the gameplay. I play them because my friends like them and I like my friends and want to play them. I'm not saying they're bad games or there's nothing to like about them. I really enjoy playing Vacant with a shotgun. And the co-op missions in MW2 are fun to play with Evil and/or kai. I'm sure once I get a better TV I might like those games more. There have been times when I've watched the kill cam and there was no way I would have been able to see my character, let alone kill them. I'm sure that person is playing on an HDTV so their picture is much clearer. If that's something that could help me out in the game I'll go for it.
My biggest problem is that you have to be slow and careful when playing the game. My first experience with shooter games was Star Wars Battlefront. The whole point of that game was to run out there and kill the enemy. There were hardly any corners to hide behind. No boxes/crates to provide cover. You were exposed all the time so your only true defense was to keep moving. With these more realistic games there's any number of places for enemies to hide, corners to shoot around and balconies/rooftops to snipe from. You have to be careful if you want to do well. For me that's taking a lot of adjustment.
Will I buy this game at release? Depends. I'm sure all my friends will buy the game and if I want to play with them I'll have to buy it too. I might try to hold out for awhile but I don't see that lasting long.
Gears of War 3
The first Gears game is one of the few games I've actually played through to the end credits. And I enjoyed every painful minute of it. I can still picture Evil and I battling RAM on the train at the end. Or Zenra and I trying to get through a particularly hard room with a Locust on a troika firing at us. Those were good times.
I was making good progress in Gears 2 on my own when I was robbed. I was in the first area of chapter 5. The place where you have to ride those flying creatures out of the lair and shot anyone that follows. So close to the end and yet so far. Now I've had to start the game all over again (I really hate doing that). I bumped up the difficulty and I've run into problems doing it all on my own. I've even been desperate enough to set up an open Xbox Live room so total strangers can jump in and help me out. They don't usually stay long.
I love the story of the game and the gameplay itself. I just wish I could use the sniper rifle and torque bow as well in multiplayer matches as I seem to do in the single player game. I'm not to the end (but I will get there someday) so I don't know how much the story will make me want the next game, but I'll get it any way.
I know I have some friends that are not really liking the online play lately in Gears 2 but I don't care. I'll get it. I'll play it. And I'm sure there will be things I don't like about it. No game is perfect. I just want games that are fun.
Will I get this game at release? Yes. I might not pre-order it but this is one game I'll want to have in my library whether any of my friends get it or not.
So now that I've covered all of the games you probably want to know which one I voted for. Well, I didn't. Evey time I went to vote I couldn't decide. It was always a toss up between Dead Space 2, Fable III and Gears of War 3. I eventually eliminated Dead Space because I haven't played enough of the first game to be as "excited-as-a-kid-on-Christmas-Eve" about. And honestly I couldn't pick between Fable and Gears. It would be like picking your favorite child. You love them all but one might please you in one way, the other in a different way. By then the poll had close and I couldn't cast my vote.
I know there's more good games coming out like Fallout: New Vegas and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood and many more. Right now I'm just trying to save up enough money to get everything I want when it does come out. It's either that or I go back to eating Top Ramen while I feed my gaming habit.
What upcoming game are you most looking forward to?
Halo: Reach = 1 vote
Fable III = 1 vote
Dead Space 2 = 0 votes
Call of Duty: Black Ops = 1 vote
Gears of War 3 = 1 vote
So let's look at each game individually. Why? Because it's my blog and I said so. Anyway.
Halo: Reach
I'm not like a lot of other gamers out there in that I don't have anything against the Halo games. They're great games, filled with action and excitement. What I do have a problem with is all the shitty players that play the game. I'm not certain but I'm sure "tea-bagging" didn't exist until online Halo games. If you can get into a good room it's not bad. Unfortunately I think stupidity and bathroom humor are staples to playing Halo online these days.
Will I get this game at release? Probably not. But I'll probably wait until it drops in price because there are other games I want more.
Fable III
I loved the first Fable game although I've never gotten far in the game. I loved stealing from people's homes (I most always select a thief-type character when playing RPGs) and I loved the side quest missions. Unfortunately I had other games to play so I've never finished the first one.
I love the second Fable game even more. I think I've actually progressed even less in the main story than the first one because of all the side quests, blacksmithing and wood chopping I could do. Not to mention the pub games. In my first game my save got glitched. It happened just after I bought the Snowglobe DLC. My character wouldn't move properly and when I finally got them to Bowerstone they wouldn't move at all. I tried deleting the DLC but then my game wouldn't load because it had been a part of the last save. I finally gave up and restarted the game. And then I got robbed. So what's a girl to do? Restart the game (again) of course. Some times I get so tired about restarting games that I'm less motivated to even play them. That's were I'm at now.
Will I get this game at release? Yes. I might even put in a pre-order for it. I'm a RPG fan at heart so I love these types of games. I hope this time no one spoils the story for me by saying my dog dies again.
Dead Space 2
This is a game that I'm late to the bandwagon for. I haven't played much because every time I do my blood pressure rises because it creeps me out so much. Every time I see a body on the ground I have to beat that thing into an unrecognizable pulp before moving on. I've seen what those "dead" bodies can do and it scares the crap out of me.
My problem with the first Dead Space is that I play it in short bursts that I have a hard time remember where I need to go or what I need to do. Then I get to a puzzle, a door that needs to be propped open so I can go through it, etc., and I can't remember how to do what I need to do. So I save the game and go play something else. Eventually I'd like to play this game for an extended period of time, preferably with all the lights out, the volume turned up and a raging windstorm outside. At least until the game scares to death anyway.
Will I buy this game at release? Maybe. I might wait until I've played more of the first one and to hear from my friends who picked it up what it's like. I heard they are changing things to make it more accessible to more gamers and that's not always a good thing.
Call of Duty: Black Ops
While I like playing the Call of Duty games I'm really indifferent to the gameplay. I play them because my friends like them and I like my friends and want to play them. I'm not saying they're bad games or there's nothing to like about them. I really enjoy playing Vacant with a shotgun. And the co-op missions in MW2 are fun to play with Evil and/or kai. I'm sure once I get a better TV I might like those games more. There have been times when I've watched the kill cam and there was no way I would have been able to see my character, let alone kill them. I'm sure that person is playing on an HDTV so their picture is much clearer. If that's something that could help me out in the game I'll go for it.
My biggest problem is that you have to be slow and careful when playing the game. My first experience with shooter games was Star Wars Battlefront. The whole point of that game was to run out there and kill the enemy. There were hardly any corners to hide behind. No boxes/crates to provide cover. You were exposed all the time so your only true defense was to keep moving. With these more realistic games there's any number of places for enemies to hide, corners to shoot around and balconies/rooftops to snipe from. You have to be careful if you want to do well. For me that's taking a lot of adjustment.
Will I buy this game at release? Depends. I'm sure all my friends will buy the game and if I want to play with them I'll have to buy it too. I might try to hold out for awhile but I don't see that lasting long.
Gears of War 3
The first Gears game is one of the few games I've actually played through to the end credits. And I enjoyed every painful minute of it. I can still picture Evil and I battling RAM on the train at the end. Or Zenra and I trying to get through a particularly hard room with a Locust on a troika firing at us. Those were good times.
I was making good progress in Gears 2 on my own when I was robbed. I was in the first area of chapter 5. The place where you have to ride those flying creatures out of the lair and shot anyone that follows. So close to the end and yet so far. Now I've had to start the game all over again (I really hate doing that). I bumped up the difficulty and I've run into problems doing it all on my own. I've even been desperate enough to set up an open Xbox Live room so total strangers can jump in and help me out. They don't usually stay long.
I love the story of the game and the gameplay itself. I just wish I could use the sniper rifle and torque bow as well in multiplayer matches as I seem to do in the single player game. I'm not to the end (but I will get there someday) so I don't know how much the story will make me want the next game, but I'll get it any way.
I know I have some friends that are not really liking the online play lately in Gears 2 but I don't care. I'll get it. I'll play it. And I'm sure there will be things I don't like about it. No game is perfect. I just want games that are fun.
Will I get this game at release? Yes. I might not pre-order it but this is one game I'll want to have in my library whether any of my friends get it or not.
So now that I've covered all of the games you probably want to know which one I voted for. Well, I didn't. Evey time I went to vote I couldn't decide. It was always a toss up between Dead Space 2, Fable III and Gears of War 3. I eventually eliminated Dead Space because I haven't played enough of the first game to be as "excited-as-a-kid-on-Christmas-Eve" about. And honestly I couldn't pick between Fable and Gears. It would be like picking your favorite child. You love them all but one might please you in one way, the other in a different way. By then the poll had close and I couldn't cast my vote.
I know there's more good games coming out like Fallout: New Vegas and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood and many more. Right now I'm just trying to save up enough money to get everything I want when it does come out. It's either that or I go back to eating Top Ramen while I feed my gaming habit.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Poll Results - Best game of 2009
Okay, either my polls suck or you guys have gotten bored reading my blog. Either way I lose. Here are the (pathetic) results from the last poll:
Maybe the reason why some of you didn't vote was because of the economy and you couldn't afford to get some of the latest games. Maybe you just don't care anymore about what the latest/greatest game is. Or, like I said, maybe I'm getting boring in my old age.
I was just getting into Dragon Age when I was robbed so I don't know if the rest of the game is just as exciting as the first part. And while I owned (past tense, another victim of the robbery) Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 I hadn't played it yet (because I hadn't finished the first game). I played the demo for Left 4 Dead 2 and realized that it would be nearly impossible to play single player. That's a game best played with friends. Borderlands is a cool game but I haven't come across anything in the game that says "Whoa! this is unlike anything I've seen before". Maybe that's just me. I'd love to play Halo 3:ODST but I didn't have the money to buy it when it came out AND I wouldn't play it until I had played the earlier games AND those earlier games got stolen so I just don't see the point of buying it now to see what it's like. And seriously Nintendo? How many times are you going to "port" your original Mario Bros. game and call it "super" or "new" or both? As for Modern Warfare 2 it's got some problems.
I hate the fact that you can't jump into your friends party lobby. No can do. You've got to wait for an invite if you want to play with friends. And if your friend is already in the middle of a match you've got to send him a message saying you want in. If he stops to read it he might get killed. And do you want that on your conscience? And what happens if your party jumps out of a pre-game lobby to pick up a friend only to find out they want to play something else? Do you know how many "easy" rooms we've left only to find ourselves in those rooms where nothing goes right and everybody on the other team is glitching?
So that leaves Assassin's Creed 2. And that's the one I voted for. Even though I haven't played it (haven't finished the first game - another robbery victim). So how can I know it's the best game of 2009 if I haven't played it? I've read a lot about this game. And I've listened to what my friends have been saying. It's the game that the first one promised to be. It's the game that changes how you move and play through a game. It's also the game that opens up the game industry to approach their games differently than a standard hack-n-slash or FPS. Much like what BioShock did when it came out. And since I love BioShock why wouldn't I love Assassin's Creed 2 even if I haven't played it?
What was the best game of 2009?
Assassin's Creed 2 = 2 votes
Halo 3:ODST = 0 votes
Modern Warfare 2 = 1 vote
Left 4 Dead 2 = 0 votes
Dragon Age Origin = 0 votes
Borderlands = 0 votes
New Super Mario Bros. Wii = 0 votes
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 = 0 votes
Maybe the reason why some of you didn't vote was because of the economy and you couldn't afford to get some of the latest games. Maybe you just don't care anymore about what the latest/greatest game is. Or, like I said, maybe I'm getting boring in my old age.
I was just getting into Dragon Age when I was robbed so I don't know if the rest of the game is just as exciting as the first part. And while I owned (past tense, another victim of the robbery) Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 I hadn't played it yet (because I hadn't finished the first game). I played the demo for Left 4 Dead 2 and realized that it would be nearly impossible to play single player. That's a game best played with friends. Borderlands is a cool game but I haven't come across anything in the game that says "Whoa! this is unlike anything I've seen before". Maybe that's just me. I'd love to play Halo 3:ODST but I didn't have the money to buy it when it came out AND I wouldn't play it until I had played the earlier games AND those earlier games got stolen so I just don't see the point of buying it now to see what it's like. And seriously Nintendo? How many times are you going to "port" your original Mario Bros. game and call it "super" or "new" or both? As for Modern Warfare 2 it's got some problems.
I hate the fact that you can't jump into your friends party lobby. No can do. You've got to wait for an invite if you want to play with friends. And if your friend is already in the middle of a match you've got to send him a message saying you want in. If he stops to read it he might get killed. And do you want that on your conscience? And what happens if your party jumps out of a pre-game lobby to pick up a friend only to find out they want to play something else? Do you know how many "easy" rooms we've left only to find ourselves in those rooms where nothing goes right and everybody on the other team is glitching?
So that leaves Assassin's Creed 2. And that's the one I voted for. Even though I haven't played it (haven't finished the first game - another robbery victim). So how can I know it's the best game of 2009 if I haven't played it? I've read a lot about this game. And I've listened to what my friends have been saying. It's the game that the first one promised to be. It's the game that changes how you move and play through a game. It's also the game that opens up the game industry to approach their games differently than a standard hack-n-slash or FPS. Much like what BioShock did when it came out. And since I love BioShock why wouldn't I love Assassin's Creed 2 even if I haven't played it?
Friday, January 8, 2010
New Poll - Best game of 2009 was . . .
Here's a new poll for you. I've limited the choices to those games that are playable on systems I owned . . . or use to own. That leaves any PS3 and Nintendo DS games out.
Vote for your favorite and feel free to tell me what you think in the comments section. Especially if your favorite isn't on my list.
Best game of 2009 was . . .
Assassin's Creed II
Halo 3: ODST
Call of Duty: Modern Warefare 2
Left 4 Dead 2
Dragon Age: Origin
Borderlands
New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2
Vote for your favorite and feel free to tell me what you think in the comments section. Especially if your favorite isn't on my list.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Poll Results - 2 for the price of 1
Okay, here are the poll results:
And the winner is . . .
Actually I don't think there's any clear cut winner. For either question. But let's start with the first one, shall we?
Some @#$% idiots broke into my house and stold all my gaming equipment I had out. System's gone. Games gone. Controllers gone. Memory cards gone. As much as I wanted to immediately go out and rebuy everything I'm not made of money and it doesn't grow on trees. I would need to wait until the insurance company comes through. And unfortunately I'm still waiting. If anyone wants to be my Sugar Daddy to help with this I'd make it very worth it to you. *wink wink* Needless to say I didn't vote for the spending spree.
I didn't vote for knitting, reading, family or sunshine either. I don't know how to knit, but I do know how to crochet. I already know how to read (although I haven't been doing much of that in the last two years). I use to read 24-36 books a year. Now I'm lucky if I read 10. I already spend a lot of time with family. Sometimes it feels like too much. They just wear me out. Kids'll do it. And sunshine? Where I live there's sunshine 330+ days a year. I could do with a few clouds and doom and gloom every now and then.
I did vote for curling up in the fetal position and crying like a baby. Did I actually do that? No. I've only cried twice over this whole fiasco. Once when I first got home (after having thrown up at the grocery store on the way home from work) and I was on the phone with my dad. I think 5 or 6 tears fell. I cried again later that night (much later) while the glass guy was repairing the door. I was tired. I was sick. And all I wanted to do when I got home was take a nap on the couch for a couple of hours. Instead I had to go through all that mess. I hadn't eaten anything all day. I was exhausted. And people were parading through my house like it was a circus. Some invited. Others not. I laid on the couch and used my remaining strength not to break down into hysterical sobbing. Every now and then a tear slipped through. Another 5 or 6 perhaps. Once the glass guy and my dad left at 11:30pm I finally had some peace and quiet . . . and a dog who was wound up from all the excitement and unhappy that she had been locked away in a room while everyone came and went.
Now for the second poll.
I didn't vote in this one.
Oops.
My first instinct was to vote for Battlefront. I'm a huge Star Wars fan and Battlefront is also the first online game I played. Much like Zak and Halo. But I didn't want my unbridled passion for anything Star Wars to influence my decision so I wanted to think on the matter a couple of days before voting. And then time ran out.
I looked at the influence Halo has had over online gaming. Good and bad. I looked at the staying power of the Call of Duty series and the fact that 2 separate developers are keeping that series alive and kicking . . . or sometimes a more rambling, lurching walk of the dead. But if any game or series would make he question Battlefront for content it would be Gears of War. That game is second only to Battlefront in how many hours/days/months/years of sleepless nights I put in playing it. While some will quibble over some of the technical aspects of the game I still like it. Always have. Always will. End of discussion. But I couldn't forget the splash Counter Strike and the various clones of the game and the effect that had on multiplayer mash-ups. So many good choices . . . no more time to vote.
If I had it open for one more day to vote I would have picked Battlefront. Even though the sequel wasn't as fun as the first one I can't think of an older game that has carried on in the multiplayer online gaming world as Star Wars Battlefront has. And I think it might have the most anticipated sequel known to man . . . Battlefront 3 if/when it ever gets made. One can dream, right?
If all of your gaming equipment was stolen what would you do with your new free time?
Buy all new equipment/games immediately and keep playing = 4 votes
Curl up in the fetal position and cry like a baby = 1 vote
Knit all my friends beanie hats = 0 votes
Learn to read a book again = 0 votes
Reintroduce myself to my family = 2 votes
Investigate this thing they call sunshine = 0 votes
What is the best multiplayer game(s) ever?
Halo = 1 vote
Star Wars Battlefront = 4 votes
Call of Duty series = 1 vote
Gears of War series = 0 votes
Counter Strike = 0 votes
And the winner is . . .
Actually I don't think there's any clear cut winner. For either question. But let's start with the first one, shall we?
Some @#$% idiots broke into my house and stold all my gaming equipment I had out. System's gone. Games gone. Controllers gone. Memory cards gone. As much as I wanted to immediately go out and rebuy everything I'm not made of money and it doesn't grow on trees. I would need to wait until the insurance company comes through. And unfortunately I'm still waiting. If anyone wants to be my Sugar Daddy to help with this I'd make it very worth it to you. *wink wink* Needless to say I didn't vote for the spending spree.
I didn't vote for knitting, reading, family or sunshine either. I don't know how to knit, but I do know how to crochet. I already know how to read (although I haven't been doing much of that in the last two years). I use to read 24-36 books a year. Now I'm lucky if I read 10. I already spend a lot of time with family. Sometimes it feels like too much. They just wear me out. Kids'll do it. And sunshine? Where I live there's sunshine 330+ days a year. I could do with a few clouds and doom and gloom every now and then.
I did vote for curling up in the fetal position and crying like a baby. Did I actually do that? No. I've only cried twice over this whole fiasco. Once when I first got home (after having thrown up at the grocery store on the way home from work) and I was on the phone with my dad. I think 5 or 6 tears fell. I cried again later that night (much later) while the glass guy was repairing the door. I was tired. I was sick. And all I wanted to do when I got home was take a nap on the couch for a couple of hours. Instead I had to go through all that mess. I hadn't eaten anything all day. I was exhausted. And people were parading through my house like it was a circus. Some invited. Others not. I laid on the couch and used my remaining strength not to break down into hysterical sobbing. Every now and then a tear slipped through. Another 5 or 6 perhaps. Once the glass guy and my dad left at 11:30pm I finally had some peace and quiet . . . and a dog who was wound up from all the excitement and unhappy that she had been locked away in a room while everyone came and went.
Now for the second poll.
I didn't vote in this one.
Oops.
My first instinct was to vote for Battlefront. I'm a huge Star Wars fan and Battlefront is also the first online game I played. Much like Zak and Halo. But I didn't want my unbridled passion for anything Star Wars to influence my decision so I wanted to think on the matter a couple of days before voting. And then time ran out.
I looked at the influence Halo has had over online gaming. Good and bad. I looked at the staying power of the Call of Duty series and the fact that 2 separate developers are keeping that series alive and kicking . . . or sometimes a more rambling, lurching walk of the dead. But if any game or series would make he question Battlefront for content it would be Gears of War. That game is second only to Battlefront in how many hours/days/months/years of sleepless nights I put in playing it. While some will quibble over some of the technical aspects of the game I still like it. Always have. Always will. End of discussion. But I couldn't forget the splash Counter Strike and the various clones of the game and the effect that had on multiplayer mash-ups. So many good choices . . . no more time to vote.
If I had it open for one more day to vote I would have picked Battlefront. Even though the sequel wasn't as fun as the first one I can't think of an older game that has carried on in the multiplayer online gaming world as Star Wars Battlefront has. And I think it might have the most anticipated sequel known to man . . . Battlefront 3 if/when it ever gets made. One can dream, right?
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
New Poll - Spare time and Best Multi-player
TWO POLLS! Two for the price of one. Because I'm lazy and generous all at the same time.
Poll #1
Poll #2
You have until just after Christmas to vote in both polls.
Poll #1
If all your gaming equipment was stolen what would you do with all your new free time?
Immediately buy new systems/games and keep playing
Curl up in the fetal position and cry like a baby
Knit all my friends beanie hats for Christmas
Learn how to read a book again
Introduce myself to my family again
Investigate this thing they call sunshine
Poll #2
What is the best multi-player game(s) ever?
Halo series
Star Wars Battlefront series
Call of Duty series
Gears of War series
Counter Strike
You have until just after Christmas to vote in both polls.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Poll results - New ranking system in GoW2
So here's the poll results:
I have to admit that it's nice to finally see some progress for all the hard work I put into Gears matches. That being said I will admit that I voted for "It's okay" and not "Love it!". I'll tell you why.
The reasons why I like it is the fact that you actually get to see what you're working towards. There's your progress. There's a goal. And there's a sense of accomplishment when you level up. Yes, I know there are people who'd play Gears online just for the fun of it whether there was a ranking system or not. I'm not one of them. Mostly anyway. I do enjoy playing online with my friends but sometimes the monotonous nature of online matches can get boring after awhile. When that happens I'd turn the game off and probably never come back. With a ranking system (and one you can actually see working and you understand) it's nice to come back to the game and see if you can "level up" one more time before going to bed.
Just the other night I was 7 points from leveling up and we were about to call it a night. Well, I just couldn't leave my rank that close and just go to bed so the group decided to play one more match so I would hopefully get those 7 points. Unfortunately the match we were in didn't turn out very good. We had 4 people in our party so we picked up a "FOUND PLAYER" and started the match. By the second round all players on the other team had dropped out and we were running around shooting bots. We were cruising to a very easy victory when with 1 win away from winning the whole match we got the "host disconnected to the game" message. Apparently that "FOUND PLAYER" was the game's host and he didn't want to stick around for 1 more round and an easy win. He would rather take a 1,500 point loss than play another minute against bots. Game over.
Unfortunately that meant I didn't get my 7 points to level up. We all wanted to see if we'd be penalized the 1,500 points for "quiting" the game just because the host quit. We stuck around for one more match and I was able to level up. We also found out that we didn't lose the penalty for dropping out. But that's not always the case.
I've played a couple of games where I've left early. One I willing took the penalty instead of sticking around in a laggy game. The other times I've lost connection to the host or that other error message (something about timing out). Sometimes I've gotten the penalty and sometimes I haven't. After talking to my friends that's happened to them too. One of them lagged out of a game due to his internet connection and got the penalty. It's wasn't his fault, but I guess a computer system wouldn't recognize that.
As much as I like the fact that you can now see where you stand, the random penalty assessment is very annoying. But does it matter anyway? If you play long enough everyone will be able to max out their rank in the game. A higher rank doesn't necessarily mean you're better than the person next to you, it just means you've played it long enough to accumulate a lot of points. Now, for some people it might take them one month to get to rank 20 (like me) when someone else can do it in a couple of days. That is a differentiation in rank but that doesn't show up when you get into a public room. You don't know if that "15er" has been playing a couple of days or just a couple of hours. I know the system that everyone has compared the new ranks in Gears 2 to is Call of Duty. But with Call of Duty it's the same way. I'm on my third level of prestige in COD4 and I'm not that good of a player.
Even though we have the "experienced" based ranking that you can see in a game lobby the developers said they still kept the "true skill ranking" for better matchmaking, but it just stays in the back ground. While I like the idea of playing against similarly skilled players instead of facing a room full of zen masters, it bothers that they say "you're a 13 ranked player but we're going to treat you like a 2 ranked player because of your skill". If I'm a terrible shot than just all me that. I can handle it.
And how can we be sure that "true skill" rankings are accurate. My friend Genghis Khan leads all friends in almost every single category on my friend's leaderboard, but he never achieved a gold stripe in the original ranking system. Evil Ric, who's not far behind Genghis on many of the boards, got a gold stripe and kept it for a very long time before losing it and then never being able to get it back. Then there's other players that got the stripe, lost it, got it back and lost it again. And they couldn't figure out why. Where's the consistency in that?
I think this new ranking system is a huge step in the right direction, but I don't think it's perfect. The "true skill" ranking is too much like Halo's system (which is Microsoft's baby) so there should be no surprise that it's used in this game. But it's a system that I don't think anyone's ever really understood. It's just now that the gaming population has cried loud enough for someone to do something about it. And while I will probably never max out my prestige levels in Call of Duty games there is some hope that I can max things out in Gears of War 2. It just might take me until the next game comes out before I do. Another year or two should give me enough time.
What do you think of the new ranking system in Gears of War 2?
Love it! = 3 votes
It's okay = 1 vote
Hate it! = 0 votes
I don't play Gears of War 2 any more = 2 votes
I have to admit that it's nice to finally see some progress for all the hard work I put into Gears matches. That being said I will admit that I voted for "It's okay" and not "Love it!". I'll tell you why.
The reasons why I like it is the fact that you actually get to see what you're working towards. There's your progress. There's a goal. And there's a sense of accomplishment when you level up. Yes, I know there are people who'd play Gears online just for the fun of it whether there was a ranking system or not. I'm not one of them. Mostly anyway. I do enjoy playing online with my friends but sometimes the monotonous nature of online matches can get boring after awhile. When that happens I'd turn the game off and probably never come back. With a ranking system (and one you can actually see working and you understand) it's nice to come back to the game and see if you can "level up" one more time before going to bed.
Just the other night I was 7 points from leveling up and we were about to call it a night. Well, I just couldn't leave my rank that close and just go to bed so the group decided to play one more match so I would hopefully get those 7 points. Unfortunately the match we were in didn't turn out very good. We had 4 people in our party so we picked up a "FOUND PLAYER" and started the match. By the second round all players on the other team had dropped out and we were running around shooting bots. We were cruising to a very easy victory when with 1 win away from winning the whole match we got the "host disconnected to the game" message. Apparently that "FOUND PLAYER" was the game's host and he didn't want to stick around for 1 more round and an easy win. He would rather take a 1,500 point loss than play another minute against bots. Game over.
Unfortunately that meant I didn't get my 7 points to level up. We all wanted to see if we'd be penalized the 1,500 points for "quiting" the game just because the host quit. We stuck around for one more match and I was able to level up. We also found out that we didn't lose the penalty for dropping out. But that's not always the case.
I've played a couple of games where I've left early. One I willing took the penalty instead of sticking around in a laggy game. The other times I've lost connection to the host or that other error message (something about timing out). Sometimes I've gotten the penalty and sometimes I haven't. After talking to my friends that's happened to them too. One of them lagged out of a game due to his internet connection and got the penalty. It's wasn't his fault, but I guess a computer system wouldn't recognize that.
As much as I like the fact that you can now see where you stand, the random penalty assessment is very annoying. But does it matter anyway? If you play long enough everyone will be able to max out their rank in the game. A higher rank doesn't necessarily mean you're better than the person next to you, it just means you've played it long enough to accumulate a lot of points. Now, for some people it might take them one month to get to rank 20 (like me) when someone else can do it in a couple of days. That is a differentiation in rank but that doesn't show up when you get into a public room. You don't know if that "15er" has been playing a couple of days or just a couple of hours. I know the system that everyone has compared the new ranks in Gears 2 to is Call of Duty. But with Call of Duty it's the same way. I'm on my third level of prestige in COD4 and I'm not that good of a player.
Even though we have the "experienced" based ranking that you can see in a game lobby the developers said they still kept the "true skill ranking" for better matchmaking, but it just stays in the back ground. While I like the idea of playing against similarly skilled players instead of facing a room full of zen masters, it bothers that they say "you're a 13 ranked player but we're going to treat you like a 2 ranked player because of your skill". If I'm a terrible shot than just all me that. I can handle it.
And how can we be sure that "true skill" rankings are accurate. My friend Genghis Khan leads all friends in almost every single category on my friend's leaderboard, but he never achieved a gold stripe in the original ranking system. Evil Ric, who's not far behind Genghis on many of the boards, got a gold stripe and kept it for a very long time before losing it and then never being able to get it back. Then there's other players that got the stripe, lost it, got it back and lost it again. And they couldn't figure out why. Where's the consistency in that?
I think this new ranking system is a huge step in the right direction, but I don't think it's perfect. The "true skill" ranking is too much like Halo's system (which is Microsoft's baby) so there should be no surprise that it's used in this game. But it's a system that I don't think anyone's ever really understood. It's just now that the gaming population has cried loud enough for someone to do something about it. And while I will probably never max out my prestige levels in Call of Duty games there is some hope that I can max things out in Gears of War 2. It just might take me until the next game comes out before I do. Another year or two should give me enough time.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Video gaming therapy
So, I've been getting very frustrated while playing video games recently as I'm sure you're all aware of (and which sometimes I'm sorry I brought it up) and I didn't really know how to get that excitement back. I think I've finally figured it out and I can sum it up in two words.
FINAL FANTASY
On Tuesday, after a long day at work, I finally decided I needed to connect my DVD player and PS2 up in my new house. I wasn't going to watch a movie and by the time I got around to getting everything connected I hadn't planned on playing a game. But I did. I put in Final Fantasy X-2 again and after about 30 minutes things started to feel right with the world again.
Of course things didn't feel all that "right" in my hands at first. Holding my Dualshock 2 PS2 controller felt weird. It felt too light, insubstantial and cramped. While the controller looks symmetrical the stick placements seemed off. My wrists felt awkwardly bent and I was afraid my thumbs would trip over themselves while I played. And then I remembered when holding a PS2 controller didn't feel that way.
I remember going from the flat, oval controllers for my SNES to the dual stick controllers for the PlayStation. It felt awkward at first, but after awhile it felt completely natural. It felt like this was the only way to hold a controller and play a game. For years I lived that way, first with my PlayStation, then with my PS2. Sure, there was s GameCube thrown in there but 99% of my game time was spent with a DualShock controller in hand.
I remember when the original Xbox came out and I hefted their original controller (the big black hamburger) it felt awkward. The sticks were not symmetrical, the buttons at an odd angle and way too close together. How could anyone play I game using this controller? I eventually moved to the "S" model of the controller which fit better in my hands and wasn't quite so bulky. When I got my Xbox 360 I went through a similar situation, but it was easier to get use to the new controller.
It was probably easier because there were move games I wanted to play consistently with my 360 that I didn't really have with the the original Xbox. While I was playing the original Xbox I was still playing my PS2 for the majority of my time. The PS2 controller was the one that felt the most natural and comfortable in my hands. But unfortunately I haven't played my PS2 for at least 5 months, maybe more.
So even though it was very late when I finally got my DVD and PS2 hooked up I decided I wanted to put something in and see if the machine still worked. I put in Final Fantasy X-2. It worked. When I looked at my save file the last time I saved the game was in May of 2005. The other game I considered playing was Final Fantasy IX and that save files was from April of 2003. I couldn't believe it had been that long since I've played that game. I guess if I would have thought about it I should have realized it HAD been that long.
I remember when my PS2 had been my life. Now it seems that is true of my Xbox 360. Don't get me wrong, but I don't think there's anything wrong with that. It's just that I think there are more FPS games for the 360 than there are for the PS2. Maybe it has something to do with the "typical gamer" for that system, or maybe it's just a trend that has recently just surfaced. I'm a RPG gamer at heart as I've said before so there is only so much FPS action I can take before I start to lose it. And recently I think I've been losing it.
So when I restarted FFX-2 again for what was probably the third of fourth time I felt like I was finally coming home. My mind and body could give a sigh of relief and some much needed RPG therapy could begin. And as much as I wanted to go to bed I stayed up and played for about a half an hour before calling it a night. And yesterday I went back for some more therapy.
Does that mean that I'm done playing FPS like Gears of War, Halo, or Call of Duty? Absolutely not. As much as I liked playing FFX-2 it was kind of lonely with no one to talk to. For now I'm content to play some Final Fantasy and remember why I liked playing video games in the first place. I'm sure the controller will feel natural in my hands again too. I've just got to figure out how to balance my RPG and FPS desires so I don't get burned out on one or feel lonely on the other.
I think everyone should experience some video game therapy every now and then. There's nothing worse than a gamer who puts the games away because they've forgotten why they love playing video games in the first place. And besides, even with the cost of high speed internet and video games it's still cheaper than laying on a couch talking to a shrink. And blowing up things or cutting enemies down with a sword is so much more cathartic, don't you think? That's all I'm saying.
FINAL FANTASY
On Tuesday, after a long day at work, I finally decided I needed to connect my DVD player and PS2 up in my new house. I wasn't going to watch a movie and by the time I got around to getting everything connected I hadn't planned on playing a game. But I did. I put in Final Fantasy X-2 again and after about 30 minutes things started to feel right with the world again.
Of course things didn't feel all that "right" in my hands at first. Holding my Dualshock 2 PS2 controller felt weird. It felt too light, insubstantial and cramped. While the controller looks symmetrical the stick placements seemed off. My wrists felt awkwardly bent and I was afraid my thumbs would trip over themselves while I played. And then I remembered when holding a PS2 controller didn't feel that way.
I remember going from the flat, oval controllers for my SNES to the dual stick controllers for the PlayStation. It felt awkward at first, but after awhile it felt completely natural. It felt like this was the only way to hold a controller and play a game. For years I lived that way, first with my PlayStation, then with my PS2. Sure, there was s GameCube thrown in there but 99% of my game time was spent with a DualShock controller in hand.
I remember when the original Xbox came out and I hefted their original controller (the big black hamburger) it felt awkward. The sticks were not symmetrical, the buttons at an odd angle and way too close together. How could anyone play I game using this controller? I eventually moved to the "S" model of the controller which fit better in my hands and wasn't quite so bulky. When I got my Xbox 360 I went through a similar situation, but it was easier to get use to the new controller.
It was probably easier because there were move games I wanted to play consistently with my 360 that I didn't really have with the the original Xbox. While I was playing the original Xbox I was still playing my PS2 for the majority of my time. The PS2 controller was the one that felt the most natural and comfortable in my hands. But unfortunately I haven't played my PS2 for at least 5 months, maybe more.
So even though it was very late when I finally got my DVD and PS2 hooked up I decided I wanted to put something in and see if the machine still worked. I put in Final Fantasy X-2. It worked. When I looked at my save file the last time I saved the game was in May of 2005. The other game I considered playing was Final Fantasy IX and that save files was from April of 2003. I couldn't believe it had been that long since I've played that game. I guess if I would have thought about it I should have realized it HAD been that long.
I remember when my PS2 had been my life. Now it seems that is true of my Xbox 360. Don't get me wrong, but I don't think there's anything wrong with that. It's just that I think there are more FPS games for the 360 than there are for the PS2. Maybe it has something to do with the "typical gamer" for that system, or maybe it's just a trend that has recently just surfaced. I'm a RPG gamer at heart as I've said before so there is only so much FPS action I can take before I start to lose it. And recently I think I've been losing it.
So when I restarted FFX-2 again for what was probably the third of fourth time I felt like I was finally coming home. My mind and body could give a sigh of relief and some much needed RPG therapy could begin. And as much as I wanted to go to bed I stayed up and played for about a half an hour before calling it a night. And yesterday I went back for some more therapy.
Does that mean that I'm done playing FPS like Gears of War, Halo, or Call of Duty? Absolutely not. As much as I liked playing FFX-2 it was kind of lonely with no one to talk to. For now I'm content to play some Final Fantasy and remember why I liked playing video games in the first place. I'm sure the controller will feel natural in my hands again too. I've just got to figure out how to balance my RPG and FPS desires so I don't get burned out on one or feel lonely on the other.
I think everyone should experience some video game therapy every now and then. There's nothing worse than a gamer who puts the games away because they've forgotten why they love playing video games in the first place. And besides, even with the cost of high speed internet and video games it's still cheaper than laying on a couch talking to a shrink. And blowing up things or cutting enemies down with a sword is so much more cathartic, don't you think? That's all I'm saying.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
When do you play a sequel?
So you play a game and like it. Maybe a year or two later a sequel to the game comes out. You buy it intending to play it as soon as you get home only to realize that you haven't finished playing the first game. What do you do?
Do you put the game in and play it anyway even though you don't know how things ended with the first one? Or are you like me and just tuck it away in a game case for that time when you know you'll (maybe) get around to finishing the first game?
I don't like it when the ending of things (movies, books, games) gets ruined for me. It takes that emotional punch away after all your hard work to see things through until the end. I watched my brother finish Final Fantasy X. I was fascinated with how the story was unfolding, but I wasn't close to finishing the game myself. By the time I got to the end it was still great but it didn't have that "blow me away" factor. Been there; done that.
I can trace this aversion to spoilers to a specific incident all the way back to when I was seven years old. Star Wars had come out and me and my older siblings wanted desperately to go see the movie. Unfortunately my mother couldn't take us when it first came out because she was pregnant with my youngest brother. After he was born she still couldn't take us because she had a new baby. My older sister (13 years old) concocted a plan for her, my older brother (10 years old) and myself to take the bus to the movie theater. We had everything planned out when we presented it to my mother. She agreed. We were thrilled we were finally going to see what everyone had been talking about all summer.
What we didn't figure on was that the bus schedule we used was out dated. When we got to the spot where we needed to transfer routes there was no bus to be seen. We waited for 20 minutes. Still no bus. So we started walking in the direction of the theater. We paused at each bus stop along the way but still no bus. When we were half-way between 2 stops a bus drove by. We waved our arms, screamed and ran after it but it wouldn't stop. We ended up walking the whole way there (I learned later about 2.5 miles). When we finally got to the theater and bought our tickets the girl said the movie just started.
She lied.
We crept in and sat down and started watching the movie in the middle of the cantina scene. Now if you've seen the movie you will know that the cantina scene is NOT at the beginning of the movie. It's about 30 minutes in. I didn't know who any of the people were on the screen. Who were the bad guys? Who were the good guys? Why should I care?
By the end of the movie I couldn't figure out why everyone liked the movie so much because I didn't know what was going on. My sister called my mom from a payphone (yes they did have payphones back in those days) and told her about the buses. Because we had missed a bunch of the movie we were all crying. My mom suggested we talk to the manager to see if he could let us stay to watch the part of the movie that we had missed. I guess looking into the faces of 3 crying children was enough for him because he agreed. We ended up staying for the whole thing. And now that I had seen the WHOLE movie, from beginning to end, I knew why everyone liked it so much.
But when the movie started I also knew a lot of other things as well. I knew what would happen to Obi-Wan by the end of the movie from the moment he walked out. I knew to fear Dark Vader and the Empire even before that Star Destroyer crawls across the top of the screen. I knew Luke was more than a whinny farm boy and that they would save the princess and Han wouldn't do it for the money. I knew the ending. Before I had seen the beginning. Because of that Obi-Wan has always been my favorite character. But since then I've never liked to know how things end before I had seen how things started.
I have video game sequels to Ape Escape, Halo, Dark Cloud, Grandia, Legend of Legaia, Xenosaga, Kingdom Hearts, .Hack, Jak & Daxter, Rachet and Clank, Metal Gear Solid, Spyro, Wild Arms, Suikoden and many other games. And I haven't finish any one of them. Their sequels sit in my large disk chase just waiting for me to play . . . the originals. I have enough games to play a new one every day of the year but that's not going to help finish any of them. And I couldn't play some of them because their sequels.
So when do you play a sequel? I wait to play mine.
Do you put the game in and play it anyway even though you don't know how things ended with the first one? Or are you like me and just tuck it away in a game case for that time when you know you'll (maybe) get around to finishing the first game?
I don't like it when the ending of things (movies, books, games) gets ruined for me. It takes that emotional punch away after all your hard work to see things through until the end. I watched my brother finish Final Fantasy X. I was fascinated with how the story was unfolding, but I wasn't close to finishing the game myself. By the time I got to the end it was still great but it didn't have that "blow me away" factor. Been there; done that.
I can trace this aversion to spoilers to a specific incident all the way back to when I was seven years old. Star Wars had come out and me and my older siblings wanted desperately to go see the movie. Unfortunately my mother couldn't take us when it first came out because she was pregnant with my youngest brother. After he was born she still couldn't take us because she had a new baby. My older sister (13 years old) concocted a plan for her, my older brother (10 years old) and myself to take the bus to the movie theater. We had everything planned out when we presented it to my mother. She agreed. We were thrilled we were finally going to see what everyone had been talking about all summer.
What we didn't figure on was that the bus schedule we used was out dated. When we got to the spot where we needed to transfer routes there was no bus to be seen. We waited for 20 minutes. Still no bus. So we started walking in the direction of the theater. We paused at each bus stop along the way but still no bus. When we were half-way between 2 stops a bus drove by. We waved our arms, screamed and ran after it but it wouldn't stop. We ended up walking the whole way there (I learned later about 2.5 miles). When we finally got to the theater and bought our tickets the girl said the movie just started.
She lied.
We crept in and sat down and started watching the movie in the middle of the cantina scene. Now if you've seen the movie you will know that the cantina scene is NOT at the beginning of the movie. It's about 30 minutes in. I didn't know who any of the people were on the screen. Who were the bad guys? Who were the good guys? Why should I care?
By the end of the movie I couldn't figure out why everyone liked the movie so much because I didn't know what was going on. My sister called my mom from a payphone (yes they did have payphones back in those days) and told her about the buses. Because we had missed a bunch of the movie we were all crying. My mom suggested we talk to the manager to see if he could let us stay to watch the part of the movie that we had missed. I guess looking into the faces of 3 crying children was enough for him because he agreed. We ended up staying for the whole thing. And now that I had seen the WHOLE movie, from beginning to end, I knew why everyone liked it so much.
But when the movie started I also knew a lot of other things as well. I knew what would happen to Obi-Wan by the end of the movie from the moment he walked out. I knew to fear Dark Vader and the Empire even before that Star Destroyer crawls across the top of the screen. I knew Luke was more than a whinny farm boy and that they would save the princess and Han wouldn't do it for the money. I knew the ending. Before I had seen the beginning. Because of that Obi-Wan has always been my favorite character. But since then I've never liked to know how things end before I had seen how things started.
I have video game sequels to Ape Escape, Halo, Dark Cloud, Grandia, Legend of Legaia, Xenosaga, Kingdom Hearts, .Hack, Jak & Daxter, Rachet and Clank, Metal Gear Solid, Spyro, Wild Arms, Suikoden and many other games. And I haven't finish any one of them. Their sequels sit in my large disk chase just waiting for me to play . . . the originals. I have enough games to play a new one every day of the year but that's not going to help finish any of them. And I couldn't play some of them because their sequels.
So when do you play a sequel? I wait to play mine.
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